


there is nowhere i would rather be

by Flowerparrish



Series: winterhawk bingo [6]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bingo Fill, Fluff, M/M, someone is mean about pitbulls but bucky sets them straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 19:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20179525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowerparrish/pseuds/Flowerparrish
Summary: “You can’t bring a dog,” Tony says.Clint just shrugs at that. “Well, I have been thinking about retiring.”





	there is nowhere i would rather be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bookworm1295](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm1295/gifts).

> Winterhawk Bingo Square: adopt all the strays
> 
> In memory of Nyla, who was a very good girl.

When it becomes a rule that all Avengers live on the compound, Clint says, “I’m only coming if I can bring my dog.”

Everyone stops. “You have a dog?” Steve asks.

“Yeah,” Clint agrees. “He’s the best.”

“What do you do when we’re away on missions?”

“My neighbor watches him.”

“You can’t bring a dog,” Tony says.

Clint just shrugs at that. “Well, I have been thinking about retiring.”

\--

He gets back to the farm and has a blessed two days of freedom, unpacking his few belongings and then trying to beat the place back into livable condition, before he gets a phone call from Tony.

“What?” Clint asks, hammer in one hand as he pries up roofing tiles to lay new ones down. He’s on a ladder, leaning against the building precariously with no one told hold on to the base. Eh, whatever, he’s survived falls from higher up than this. “I’m busy.”

“Where the hell are you? Why haven’t you moved in yet?”

Clint sighs. “I told you at the meeting. I’m retiring.”

“Is this about the dog?” Tony asks. “Because, you can just _retire.” _

“Uh, I just did.” Clint tries to go back to prying up tiles one handed, but the ladder wobbles. _Fine, _he thinks, _I’ll wait. _“And I meant it, Tony, I’m busy.”

“Fine, bring the dog, then,” Tony says.

“It’s not about the dog, Tony,” Clint says. “That was an excuse. I’m retired. Tell Steve for me, would ya?” He hangs up, turns his phone off, and returns to his task.

\--

Steve calls, disappointed and asking if there’s nothing he can do to get Clint to stay on. When Clint tells Steve he’s just tired, Steve seems to understand. “Can we come visit?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Clint tells him immediately. “You’re still my friends. I’m just retired, not dead.”

“Oh, good,” Steve says, and he sounds relieved at that. It warms Clint inside.

\--

He gets texts from all of the Avengers. The weird one is getting texts from Bucky.

They hung out, before, on the range and sometimes in the gym, but they didn’t _chat. _But now it’s like Bucky’s got a stream of consciousness going from his brain into his chat with Clint, saying the stupidest things he thinks of and asking questions at all hours.

Clint gets used to it. It’s kinda lonely out here, after all. Lucky’s good company, but Clint kind of misses human company sometimes, too.

That said, he’s not expecting it when he gets a call from Bucky in the middle of what he knows from TV is an Avengers battle in New York.

“Are you dying?” Clint demands as he answers the phone.

“No. I found a kitten.”

“You’re… fighting aliens. And you found a kitten.”

“It’s a baby and it was behind a dumpster crying for help. I think it got abandoned.”

Clint pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tuck it back behind the dumpster for safety. Finish the fight. Collect the kitten afterward and take it to a vet.”

“What if it dies?” Bucky asks.

Clint sighs. “Are you gonna just stay and protect it?”

“I can’t,” Bucky says, but he sounds torn.

“The kitten will be fine,” Clint tells him, hoping he’s right. “Just make sure to go back for it.”

“Fuck. Okay.” Bucky hangs up, and Clint pulls his phone away from his ear to just stare at it.

Call log says that _actually _just happened.

Huh.

\--

He answers a call from Bucky at one am the next morning—only a few hours later, really—with a voice that’s sleep rough and grumbly. “You’re not dying, right?”

“The kitten’s fine.”

“Good.”

“You got any space in that house of yours?”

“For a kitten? Yeah, I guess.”

“And, uh… for me?”

Clint sits up in bed and rubs his eyes. _O-kay, _he thinks, _I clearly need to be awake for this conversation. _“Talk to me.” He almost doesn’t ache to think of Phil when he says the words, but it’s definitely something he learned from Phil, the way he’s able to make his voice direct but somehow also open, encouraging a response rather than expecting one.

“You were done fighting, right?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah,” Clint agrees. Sighs. “Yeah, I was.”

“I think I need a break.” Bucky sounds small when he admits it, like he doesn’t want to risk the reaction he thinks the words are going to get.

_If anyone needs a break, _Clint thinks, _it’s Bucky. _

“Yeah, okay,” Clint says. “I got a spare room. Bring the cat.”

\--

Clint doesn’t know how Bucky convinces Steve that this is something he needs to do. Maybe it’s that simple—he tells Steve, just like he told Clint. Steve loves Bucky more than anything—Clint’s just impressed Steve loves Bucky enough to let him go, even if it’s only for a little while.

Bucky settles in well. He helps Clint with renovation projects, and progress starts happening a lot faster. Clint’s got a sparring partner now, and Bucky teaches him some new tricks, which Clint can’t help but find impressive.

Lucky and Alpine, Bucky’s new cat, get along just fine. Sometimes Clint will walk into the living room to find Lucky curled up on the rug in a patch of sun, Alpine nestled against Lucky’s chest, one of Lucky’s paws tucked around the little kitten’s body.

It’s ridiculously cute. Clint has approximately a billion animal photos on his phone, and a few of Bucky making faces at him for ridiculous comments.

They watch a lot of bad reality TV, and Bucky reads through all the books he brought in the span of two weeks and begs Clint to take him into town to get more. Unfortunately, he can’t just order on Amazon, because they’re so far out that nowhere, not even Amazon, delivers.

They pick up some book shelves while they’re in town, loading them into the back of Clint’s beat up old pickup and strapping them down, because Clint sees where this is going, and he knows they’re going to end up with shelves worth of books sooner than later.

It’s cozy. Before he knows it, winter is approaching, and they’re cutting firewood in an attempt to prepare.

Bucky tugs off his shirt at one point, sweating even in the cold air, and Clint’s mouth goes dry.

_Oh shit, _he thinks. Uncomfortable attraction to his roommate, aw, no…

\--

They’re at their monthly pet store stock up for the animals when it happens.

There’s an adoption event going on, and the two dogs on show are a small little white mop of a dog and a beautiful brown Pitbull.

Clint adores both of them and gives them copious pets, Bucky hanging back on the edges.

“What’s her name?” he asks the volunteer as he pets the Pitbull. She’s gentle and happy, all wide smiles and big brown eyes. The mop dog is currently being fawned over by a family with a small child.

“Nyla,” the volunteer tells him. “She’s such a friendly girl.”

“She seems great,” Clint says, not having to fake any enthusiasm.

“We don’t need another animal,” Bucky reminds from behind him. He puts a hand on Clint’s shoulder and squeezes lightly, though, like he knows how hard it is for Clint to leave behind an animal who needs a home.

“Good choice man,” says the father of the family looking at the other dog. “Pitbulls can be vicious.”

The volunteer’s eyes tighten. Clint freezes. And Bucky says, “Excuse me?”

The man must hear the ice in Bucky’s voice and realize, even with Bucky’s metal arm hidden under long sleeves and his pocket, that he doesn’t want to anger Bucky over nothing.

He seems to also be stupid, though, because he says, “C’mon, man, everyone knows Pitbulls are the worst kind of dog.”

Bucky’s hand is now clenched tight against Clint’s shoulder. There might be bruises—but better Clint than a stranger who could press chargers.

But Bucky doesn’t punch the guy. He just turns to the volunteer and says, “Wow, looks like a space for an animal in our home just opened up. What do we need to do to adopt her?”

\--

They adopt Nyla. They also buy what Clint thinks is half of the pet store for her. A couple of large beds so she doesn’t have to share with Lucky—because Bucky looks _scandalized _when Clint suggests that, like Lucky doesn’t flop on the floor more than he uses the beds anyway—and so much dog food, more bowls, and _clothes. _

“It’ll be winter soon,” Bucky points out. “What if she gets cold?”

Clint takes that as an excuse to get a Captain America hoodie for Lucky, and they move on.

Bucky insists on paying for everything, Nyla’s leash in one hand and his card in the other. That leaves Clint with the bags, but, whatever, he’s got biceps for a reason.

Nyla curls up on some discarded flannels and a blanket in the backseat of the pickup and snoozes on the drive home, snoring adorably.

“I can’t believe you got a dog,” Clint tells Bucky. “You’re such a softy.”

“She deserves a good home,” Bucky says, like he’s trying to defend himself.

“Yeah,” Clint agrees. “Hope she gets along with other animals, though.”

\--

They get lucky—hah, _Lucky—_in that Nyla does get along with the other animals just fine. She hesitantly licks Alpine and decides to follow him around making sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble, and she likes to bound around and chase Lucky in the driveway and front yard. Lucky’s thrilled to have a companion near his size, undaunted by the fact that she’s got two eyes and is a bit bigger than he is, and the sound of play barking adds another layer of hominess to Clint’s farm.

Nyla has the cute and annoying habit of walking into a room just to fart and walk away again. Clint, at least, finds it hilarious. Bucky swears she doesn’t know she’s doing it, which Clint thinks is a load of crap.

It’s good for Bucky, having the animals. Clint comes in front a long trip to the store one day to find Bucky sprawled out on the living room floor, a dog under each arm and Alpine snoozing on his chest. He snaps a picture and sends it to Steve, before setting it as his phone’s lock screen.

\--

Bucky kisses Clint on his birthday, right after Clint finishes blowing out the candles on the cake Bucky made for him.

It was, in fact, the exact answer to Clint’s secret wish.

“How’d you know?” Clint asks.

“I’ve got eyes,” Bucky says, amused. “You gonna cut the cake now?”

“Hmm, no,” Clint decides, and he reels Bucky back in to kiss him again.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic of] there is nowhere I would rather be](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23972527) by [Flowerparrish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowerparrish/pseuds/Flowerparrish)
  * [[podfic of] there is nowhere i would rather be](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23976430) by [Dr_Fumbles_McStupid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Fumbles_McStupid/pseuds/Dr_Fumbles_McStupid)


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